unanswerable

adjective

un·​an·​swer·​able
ˌən-ˈan(t)s-rə-bəl,
-ˈan(t)-sə- How to pronounce unanswerable (audio)
: not capable of being answered
also : irrefutable
unanswerability
ˌən-ˌan(t)s-rə-ˈbi-lə-tē
-ˌan(t)-sə- How to pronounce unanswerable (audio)
noun
unanswerably
ˌən-ˈan(t)s-rə-blē
-ˈan(t)-sə- How to pronounce unanswerable (audio)
adverb

Examples of unanswerable in a Sentence

the unanswerable assertion that she didn't know much about art but she knew what she liked
Recent Examples on the Web The hockey gods had other ideas, writing a different story, the one that saw former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy gain his redemption in Las Vegas, the one that left the Bruins with little more than a pile of unanswerable what-ifs. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Aug. 2023 And, just as haunting, just as unanswerable, why did her career stall? Jeremy Lybarger, The New Republic, 24 Apr. 2023 That in essence is the film’s subject — the struggle to move forward after a paralyzing life incident and the frequently misguided advice of concerned outsiders attempting to offer answers to unanswerable questions and balms for incurable pain. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 June 2023 Still, when humans are involved in adjudicating behavior in sports, there will always be unanswerable questions about how those decisions are made. Andrew Keh, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023 But such beauty harbors unanswerable questions—ones that are, as mathematician Robert Berger stated in 1966, provably unprovable. Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2023 Song has created a poignant meditation on love, fate, and the unanswerable question of what could have been. Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 8 June 2023 That increase will bring previously unanswerable questions within reach. Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 14 Feb. 2023 The questions that linger are unanswerable without more samples: Was the horsepox found in Mongolia in 1976 really the same disease that had afflicted horses thousands of miles away and nearly three centuries earlier in Europe, when the smallpox vaccine was first invented? Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 26 Aug. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unanswerable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unanswerable was in 1613

Dictionary Entries Near unanswerable

Cite this Entry

“Unanswerable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unanswerable. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

unanswerable

adjective
un·​an·​swer·​able ˌən-ˈan(t)s-(ə-)rə-bəl How to pronounce unanswerable (audio)
ˈən-
: not answerable
especially : irrefutable
the arguments were unanswerable

More from Merriam-Webster on unanswerable

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